IBIE - 2016 Special Edition & Show Preview - 61

ABA PERSPECTIVE Election 2016: The Stretch Run In a quite unusual election year, which votes will really affect the baking industry? by Robb MacKie, American Bakers Association W When Sosland asked me in June to write a column about the upcoming election for the IBIE 2016 PreShow Guide (which is published just a couple of months before the 2016 election mercifully ends), I thought to myself, "Sure, no problem." Now, I am not sure what I was thinking, given the turbulent and tumultuous election cycle. Like everyone else, I have been consumed by the constant TMZ-style coverage of the presidential battle between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. I had to disconnect for a while to think about the political dynamic around the American Bakers Association (ABA)'s policy priorities and the remarkable success of the past couple of years. Then it hit me, the policy priorities ABA pursues are important to the baking industry and seldom rise to the attention of high-profile debates - the Employee Free Choice Act, or "Card Check," and the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare, being two exceptions. ABA is effective because of the judgement of its professional team, the expertise of its very engaged members and the support of the right policy champions. The candidate who raises his or her right hand on the West Front of the US Capitol in January will significantly impact the business environment bakers and their suppliers face. The last seven and half years have proven that. However, those who take their oaths of office inside the Senate and House chambers are also critically important. Many of ABA's policy successes are a result of key senators and representatives standing up for the industry. Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) stopping costly registration fees under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA); Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) fighting for science-based school meals policy; Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) blocking onerous EPA regulations; Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) protecting bakers from frivolous PHO lawsuits; Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) passing national GMO labeling; Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) inoculating bakers from costly tariffs; Rep. Bob Aderholt (R-AL) pushing for sound nutrition science; and many others who do important work outside of the spotlights. These are the elections that will most directly impact bakers. If these champions are not there to protect the industry, then providing consumers with fresh, healthy and wholesome products would be far more difficult and costly. ABA has a host of valuable tools to help the industry learn more about who stands up for us. I strongly encourage you to check out both RisetoAction.org and BakersEnrichAmerica.org for non-partisan election resources. Whether in the US presidential or congressional races this November, I emphatically urge you to consider candidates who will support Supreme Court justices and federal court judges willing to check the massive federal regulatory overreach that has cost almost $1 trillion in economic opportunity during these past seven years. We are at a critical juncture in our history. For the past 30 years, we have leaned on the federal courts to check the federal bureaucracy. With one Supreme Court vacancy and possibly two more to come, this election will determine whether the courts retain their constitutional checks-and-balances role. With the tumult and noise this election cycle, it is easy for bakers to be distracted from the policy discussions that most impact their bottom lines. The growing impact of policies and regulations on bakers' businesses and the potential for losing the backstop of the courts should be stark reminders this November that bakers should push aside the noise, and vote like their business is on the line. * IBIE 2016 / PreShow Guide / 61 http://www.RisetoAction.org http://www.BakersEnrichAmerica.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IBIE - 2016 Special Edition & Show Preview

IBIE - 2016 Special Edition & Show Preview
Table of Contents
IBIE PERSPECTIVE - Challenges Amid Attractive Conditions
STATE OF THE INDUSTRY - Well Positioned for Growth
Fuel for the future
PARADE OF PROGRESS - Bakers and exhibitors say they go to IBIE because …It's About the Future
EQUIPMENT TRENDS SURVEY - Good Vibrations
IBIE TECH - Must-have Mobile
ENGINEERING ROUNDTABLE - Putting it on Automatic
ABA PERSPECTIVE - Election 2016: The Stretch Run
Getting the Message Out
‘Premiumization’ opportunities abound
B&CMA, ABA - Pathway to the Future
Cookie-cracker education at IBIE
FSMA & THE BAKERY - Proof of Validation
SANITATION & SAFETY - Signs of the Times
How to collaborate, a PMMI protocol
PACKAGING - One-stop Shop
COLD STORAGE LOGISTICS - Securing Smooth Sailing
INGREDIENT CHOICES - The Big Questions
Go ahead, eat, it’s safe
TAX RELIEF - Go Ahead, Spend
SOCIAL MEDIA - Plugged into Consumers
INGREDIENT TRENDS - Favorable Forecast
INGREDIENT TRENDS: FATS & OILS - Deadline: 2018
WORKFORCE GAP - A New Paradigm
BREAD TRENDS - I Love Bread
bake - Special Edition
Retail Perspective - Road to Recovery
Retail Perspective: Equipment - Innovations Abound
Retail Perspective: Cake - Standing out from the crowd
Retail Perspective: Education - School in session
A World of Opportunity
INTERNATIONAL INSIGHT: BAKED FOODS - Global Growth: It's Not Easy
ALL-AMERICAN TAILGATE - Kickoff IBIE 2016
VEGAS GUIDE - Something for everyone
Off the beaten path
Ad Index

IBIE - 2016 Special Edition & Show Preview